The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (42 page)

“Bad luck, I guess,” Saryn mumbled.

“For you,” Gen. Crandal said. “But back to my question. Why did you shoot at Marcus?”

“With him out of the way, getting to the girl should have been easy.” Saryn cut his eyes over at Rhianna. “Didn’t count on the elf though. No one bothered to mention her.”

The slight smile that tugged at the corners of Rhianna’s mouth caught Kevin’s eye, but she didn’t say a word.

“How do you know Marcus is a sorcerer?” Gen. Crandal asked.

Saryn shrugged. “That’s what I was told this morning, that Landis would be at the chapel at lunchtime. She’d have one guard and one sorcerer with her, but not Myron.” Saryn glanced over at Kevin. “You weren’t supposed to be anywhere around here.” He looked back at Rhianna. “But like I said, no one mentioned the elf. I wouldn’t have tried it with both of them there.”

“Who told you all of this?” Gen. Crandal pressed.

“I don’t know his name but he’s given us information before, things like whether or not Myron’s around or if Landis has been seen around the castle. Today was the first time he had anything worthwhile to tell us, and then he leaves out something that important. Not much of a spy if you ask me.”

“So he’s a spy?”

Saryn nodded.

“For Rolan?”

Again, Saryn nodded.

“Does this person work in the castle?”

“I don’t know, but I imagine so. How else would he know where people are going to be and whether or not Myron’s around?”

Gen. Crandal nodded. “You say you don’t know his name though.”

“He never said and we never asked.”

“Could you describe him?”

Saryn frowned. “Sort of average. Didn’t really pay much attention, and he always has on a cloak and a hat.”

“Do you think you’d recognize him if you saw him again?”

“If I heard him talk, I might. I’m better with voices than faces.”

“And you’re sure it was a man?”

Saryn thought for a moment. “Yeah, I think so. Didn’t much sound like a woman. Or look like one.”

“You said ‘we’ a few minutes ago. Are you working with someone else?”

Saryn nodded. “From what I’ve gathered, there are a lot of us scattered around, but I only know three of them. One came down with me and the other two arrived about a month later.”

“Are they nearby?”

“Some are. Some aren’t.” Saryn’s voice was fading. “I don’t know how many others might be in this area. I know he sent some to Nandelia and last summer he sent some towards the west coast and some up north. I don’t know if he sent anyone to any of the other provinces though.” He looked over at Landis. “I just know he really wants you dead and he’s not going to stop until you are.”

“What about the ones around here? The ones you know. What can you tell us about them?”

Saryn’s eyes clouded. “I’m not telling you anything about them. I’m not going to help you kill them.”

“We don’t want to kill them, just keep them from killing any of us.”

“It’ll amount to the same thing.” Saryn shook his head. “You wouldn’t have taken me alive if it hadn’t been for that elf, but there was nothing I could do with both my arm and my leg gone.”

Gen. Crandal nodded. “Lucky for you she has good aim.”

Saryn shook his head. “I know a cage’s waiting for me, but I knew the risks when I came. I could have left, gone off somewhere else and started over. Some did after they got those orders. But I wanted to go back to Trendon. I figured once she was dead, I’d be able to go back home, whether I was the one who got her or not.”

“Is there someone waiting for you there?” Theresa asked. “Back in Trendon?” When Gen. Crandal looked at her, she said, “I could send a message through the Sisterhood and let them know he’s alive and in jail. At least whoever’s waiting won’t have to spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened to him.”

Saryn shook his head. “There was this one girl I was interested in, but we weren’t betrothed. I was hoping after it was all over … She’s probably already found someone else anyway.”

“Well, if you change your mind, let me know and I’ll get a message to her.”

Saryn nodded, leaned his head back on his pillow, and closed his eyes.

“I’d say the tea has done its job,” Theresa said as gentle snores filled the room. “You’ll have to continue this later.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Alek and Rigel stayed outside Saryn’s room, but everyone else went back to the kitchen.

“I’ll send a squad down with a stretcher and a wagon as soon as I get back to the castle,” Gen. Crandal said. “I’d like to move him while he’s still groggy.”

Theresa nodded. “Do you want me to mix up some more tea? I doubt you’ll get any more information, but it might give him an easier night.”

“Give it to my men. They’ll see to it that he gets it.”

“Hold on a minute and I’ll ride back with you,” Darrell said. Then he looked at Kevin. “What are you planning to do now?”

“I’m going to take Landis and Rhianna home, and then I’ve still got some work to do. We haven’t finished with the damage from the storm yet.”

Darrell nodded. “I want bodyguards with both you and Marcus.”

“Why me?” Marcus asked. “No one’s after me. I was just in the way.”

“He has friends out there who might blame you for his capture,” Darrell said. “At least that way you’ll have someone with you if you get shot again.”

“And speaking of that,” Kevin said, looking at Marcus. “There’s a much better way for you to protect people than using your body as a shield.”

Marcus’s face turned red to the tips of his ears. “I know. I should have thrown a shield up, and I did later, but my first reaction’s the same as it was ten years ago.”

“And you ended up with an arrow in your shoulder.” Kevin shook his head. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Meanwhile Marcus,” Darrell interrupted, “I’ll assign a guard to you for the next few days. I want Alek with you this afternoon. You can wait here until Gen. Crandal’s men pick up Saryn.”

Marcus nodded. “I don’t have many jobs left anyway. We hit most of them this morning.”

“Good. I’ve only got four or five left myself,” Kevin said as he took out his key.

“We need our bags,” Rhianna said.

“I’ll bring them out later. Right now my main concern is getting both of you out of Camden.” Kevin turned to Darrell. “Have Rigel ride back with Saryn. I want to drop by my office for a minute after I take them home. He can join me there.”

A couple of minutes later, only Theresa and Marcus remained in the kitchen. Theresa looked at him and asked, “You never did get any lunch, did you?”

Marcus shook his head. “And neither did Alek. At least Hayley managed to get some food together for Landis and Rhianna. And speaking of Hayley, do you know where she is?”

Theresa nodded. “She’s in with Sister Agnes right now. I know today’s been rough, but something wonderful happened, too. Seeing you injured woke up Hayley’s power. Sister Agnes is talking to her about joining the Sisterhood.”

~ ~ ~ ~

While Kevin waited for Rigel to get back from Milhaven, he caught Chris up on the day’s events.

“One big question sort of jumps out at you,” Chris said.

Kevin nodded. “How did they know she’d be there?”

“I didn’t know they were going to the chapel for lunch. Did you?”

Kevin shook his head. “But someone must have.”

“Wait a minute.” Chris opened the door between Kevin’s office and the reception area. “Do any of you know where Marcus was going to take Landis for lunch today?”

Elin looked up from the stack of letters she was sorting and nodded. “They were going to drop by the chapel.”

Chris frowned. “How do you know?”

“They were talking about it in the dining room. I was eating breakfast with them. Landis wanted to go to Milhaven, so Marcus said they’d go into town for lunch. He was going to get Brandon to take a message to Hayley.”

Chris nodded. “That’s fine, Elin. Did you notice who else was around?”

Elin thought for a few minutes and then named several of the kitchen staff, a few of the housekeeping staff, some of the grounds men, a couple of guards, a few soldiers, Chairman Tremayne, and his secretary, Darcy. “I think that’s all, but I might have missed someone.”

“Thanks,” Chris said as he shut the door. “I guess that answers that question.”

Kevin sighed. “And whoever any of them might have mentioned it to in passing. The better question might be who didn’t know they were going to be there for lunch.”

“So, what’s our next step?”

“I’m not sure, but we’ll need to come up with someplace else for her to go when she leaves Willow Canyon. She can’t stay here.”

Chapter 38

Repercussions

When Kevin dropped Landis and Rhianna off, they went inside long enough to let Ashni know they were back, and then headed down the mountain. Landis worked harder that afternoon than she ever had. She focused so hard on drawing in energy and storing it that by mid-afternoon her hair was stringy and her tunic was damp.

Rhianna called a halt and insisted that Landis sit down and drink some water. “You’re pushing too hard. You need to take it easy.”

“I can’t,” Landis said, near tears. “Rhianna, he killed my father. And he really is sending people out to kill me. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true, and it won’t end until one of us is dead.” She shook her head as a tear made its way down her cheek. “I don’t want it to be me.”

“I don’t either, but you can’t do it all in one afternoon.”

“I know, but if I’m focusing on the energy, I’m not thinking about what happened this afternoon.” She looked up at Rhianna. “I don’t think I’ve said it yet, but thanks for saving my life.”

Rhianna laughed. “I didn’t save your life. Alek had you covered before the arrow hit Marcus. You’d have been fine whether I was there or not. Marcus, I’m not so sure about.”

“He wasn’t expecting an attack.”

“No, and he wasn’t ready. He could have died because of it, sorcerer or not.” Landis started to say something, but Rhianna shook her head. “Look, I’m not saying he’s not a good sorcerer. From everything I saw, he is. But he wasn’t ready. You’re going to have to be.”

“I know.”

“It’s going to take a lot of training. I know you can do it, but I’m not sure you’re willing to do it. No, don’t say anything right now. It’s too close, too fresh. You need to think about this. You’re looking at a long, rough road. I’ll walk it with you, but only if you’re committed to it. Otherwise, we need to find some quiet little corner of the world Rolan’s never heard of and go there to live.”

“I’m not sure there’s any place where I’d be safe.”

“Maybe not,” Rhianna said. “But those are your only two options.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Later that afternoon, Theresa spotted Hayley walking towards the woods behind the chapel, and she didn’t look happy. By the time Theresa caught up with her, Hayley’s face was splotchy and wet from crying.

“What’s wrong?” Theresa asked as she slipped her arm round Hayley’s shoulder.

“I don’t know.” Hayley’s eyes filled with more tears. “I’m just so confused.”

“About what?”

“About my life,” Hayley blurted out. “I had it all planned out. I was your assistant, and I was going to be your assistant until I was too old to do it anymore. And then there’s Marcus. I have feelings for him, and I think he has feelings for me, but now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Theresa frowned. “Is this about your gift?”

Hayley nodded. “A year ago I wanted that more than anything else in the world. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a Sister of Healing. But now it’ll ruin everything.”

“All right,” Theresa said as she led Hayley to a big rock. After they sat down, she asked, “What’s it going to ruin?”

Hayley choked back a sob. “I’ve had so much fun going places with you. I’ve met gnomes, giants, worked in other provinces, lived in a cave! But now it’s over. I won’t be able to do that anymore. I won’t even get to meet Glendymere!”

Theresa frowned. “Why not?”

“Because I’ll be a sister, and you’ll have to find someone else to be your assistant. And that person will get to go with you to Rainbow Valley, through the forests of Farowood, and when you handle things for Sister Brena. But it won’t be me!” Hayley dissolved into tears again.

“You don’t know that. Maybe you’ll be the one Sister Brena sends off to handle things and I’ll be the one left behind.”

Hayley stabbed at her cheeks with her apron skirt. “But it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be the two of us and Marcus. We made a good team, Theresa. A really good team. I don’t want it to end.” And before Hayley could say anything else, she was crying again.

“Hayley, you’re right. We are a good team, and when Sister Brena needs a good team, I bet she’ll think of us. But in the meantime, think about what this means for you. You’ll be able to do so much more to help our patients. How many times have you said you’d give anything to be able to close a wound? Well, you did it today. You’ll be able to use your hands to ease pain, settle bad stomachs, soothe a sick child, all those things you’ve wanted to be able to do for so long. This is a time for celebration, not for tears.” When Hayley didn’t respond, Theresa asked, “Have you talked to Marcus about this yet?”

Hayley shook her head and stared at the ground. “I haven’t seen him. He left while I was talking to Sister Agnes.”

“Then why do you think this will cause trouble between the two of you?”

Hayley sniffed, sighed, and then shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but I think I might love him. And sisters don’t marry. They have to make a choice, the Sisterhood or a family. You can’t have both. Aides can marry, assistants can marry, but sisters can’t.”

Theresa frowned. “We can’t marry?”

Hayley shook her head. “How could we? We go where we’re sent, and you can’t do that if you’ve got a husband and children.”

“No one’s ever mentioned that detail to me. Surely sisters have married before.”

“Not while they’re sisters. They have to turn in their pendants if they do.”

“But no one can take your gift away from you. The power to heal will always be with you, no matter whether you’re wearing a pendant or not. You can still help people.”